#co written

Kirby smiled as he held the last heart star he and Gooey obtained in Cloudy Park. He looked out onto the horizon, and just in the distance, he could spot Iceberg in the distance. He had the biggest grin on his face as he beckoned Gooey to take a look at the view. Gooey bounced over, holding his parasol in his tongue. Though he almost dropped it at the sight.

Once they were able to make their way down the mountains from the cloud they were on, a cold sea would stand before the two, and Dedede’s castle was just a speck in the distance.

The two weren’t able to dawdle on the view for long, however, as a large figure dropped down from above, looming over the two of them.

“Wh-Who are you?” A human boy with snow white hair and soft purple eyes stood in front of them. He cautiously approached the pair. 

“Hai!” Kirby energetically waved. “Didn’t know someone lived up here!” 

“I don’t-” He shook his head with a sigh. A rainbow sword flew into his hand and he pointed it at Kirby. “What are you doing here? Who are you?”

“I’m Kirby!” Kirby grabbed the boy’s free hand and furiously shook it. “What’s your name?”

Kirby’s enthusiasm hit a soft spot. “... Noir.” He lowered his blade. “They don’t seem to be hostile…” Noir crouched down to Gooey’s level. A small, strained smile crossed his lips. “And what is your name?” He placed his hand on Gooey’s head, only to recoil backwards. He quickly got to his feet, sword flying to his side.

“Noir?” Kirby reached his hand towards him.

“STAY BACK!” He was visibly shaking. “You- you- you-! Dark matter…”

“Wh-what?! Gooey’s not like that!” Kirby bubbly explained.

“Liar…” Noir growled. “If dark matter could be good, then Adeleine… It’s your fault (it’s my fault). Why did you have to take her? (Why did I give her that stupid brush!?)”

Gooey cowered behind his parasol; a look of shame crossing his face.

“We don’t need to fight.” Kirby mumbled. He smiled wearily while looking at Noir. “We can just tal-”

“SHUT UP!”

Kirby’s eyes went wide seeing the sword pointed directly at him. “Is that…?” Kirby stepped closer. “Noir-”

“NO! I won’t let you dark matter… monsters leave this spot alive! I won’t…” Tears welled up in his eyes. “I won’t let you kill anyone else.”

“B-But your sword!” Kirby pleaded.

A dark smog covered his sword, masking all the light and color from it, and the clouds around the three of them turned gray.

Noir didn’t hesitate; his sword flew in the air and launched at Gooey. Kirby chucked a cutter blade, intercepting the blade. Kirby glanced at Gooey, not wanting to take his eyes off his opponent for too long. “Is it too late to reason with him?”

Gooey nodded, seemingly answering Kirby’s thought. He readied his parasol.

Looks like they weren’t doing this the easy way…

Noir raised his hand out, and the sword flew through the air like a hawk, dashing and swerving past the two of them, While Gooey was able to guard another shot with his parasol, Kirby used the opening to try and throw his cutter blade at Noir, only for the sword to come in and block the shot.

Kirby rubbed his head once the blade came back to him. Once the sword was coming towards him this time, he jumped out of the way. He threw another cutter blade behind himself, letting it barrel towards Noir on the return trip.

Noir just barely dodged out of the way, only to get smacked in the back multiple times by Gooey’s parasol.

“Get off of me!” Noir yelled, kicking Gooey off of him. Gooey was knocked back, and Kirby rushed to his side, throwing another cutter blade at Noir.

The sword knocked the blade into the ground this time. Noir loomed over the two of them, the blade raised into the air, but he stopped upon seeing their helpless faces. “Adeleine…”

Gooey tried to reach out to Noir, accidentally snapping him out of it. 

Noir smacked Gooey away and grabbed his sword. “I won’t… give in.”

Kirby gazed at the sword with worry.

“Stop. Stop looking at me like that!”

Noir slashed at Kirby, but Gooey guarded him. Kirby dashed and grabbed his knocked away blade, throwing it back at Noir.

Noir knocked it back with more power than before, and Gooey smacked him across the head. “I’ve had enough of you.” He pierced the parasol and threw it to the ground.

“Gooey!” Before Kirby could react, Noir sliced at Gooey.

Kirby ran up behind Noir and hit him straight on with the cutter. 

“Ack-!” Noir stumbled, holding his arm. “Having two of you is really annoying…” 

Kirby stood in front of Gooey, on guard. “Gooey.” He whispered. “Head to Iceberg, I’ll catch up with you.”

Gooey furiously shook his head. “No! I can still help!”

While Kirby’s guard was down, Noir dashed to Kirby and hit him hard, causing Kirby’s copy ability to fall and break.

Kirby’s eyes furrowed. “I can’t hold back, or Gooey and I will…”

Noir prepared for another strike, but Kirby dodged. The impact of the sword hitting the ground formed stars that Kirby inhaled and shot back at Noir. “Ow, how?”

Gooey wrapped his tongue around the sword, trying to pry it out of Noir’s hands. Noir squirmed in an attempt to shake Gooey off, visibly avoiding touching him with his hands. Kirby reached for the sword too, but grabbed one of Noir’s gloves, pulling it off. 

Noir froze as a purple, monstrous hand was revealed. Noir’s sword took advantage of this weakness, covering him in a dark fog. Gooey jolted and pulled Kirby away from Noir. Before Kirby could question Gooey, it became clear.

Noir’s shadowy form was cloaked with a cape. A visor was hastily wrapped around his eyes which now had a glazed over look. He was still human shaped, but dark matter was forming all over his body. Shadowy blades formed and shot at Kirby and Gooey.

Gooey grabbed one of the swords while Kirby inhaled three of them to shoot back Noir. 

He didn’t even try to dodge, even when Gooey followed up, slicing him with his own manifestation. His arm raised like a marionette and grabbed Gooey. 

Gooey looked at Noir. “You’re… actually a good person. I know that.” 

“No…” Noir was barely audible. “I’m not.” He doesn’t seem conscious.

Kirby grabbed the broken parasol and whacked the sword out of Noir’s hand. He whacked the sword one more time for good measure.

The dark matter disputed, returning Noir to his original form. He slumped to his knees, tears falling as he clutched his chest. “Whatever you want to do to me, dark matter spawn… just do it. I’ve already failed at everything else in my life…”

“Noir…” Kirby peeped.

Gooey approached Noir carefully, who was gritting his teeth anticipating whatever Gooey was about to do. Gooey held his tongue high to reach Noir’s face and… lightly licked his cheek like a dog, getting the tears off of his face.

“What?”

“That’s just how he says hello.” Kirby beamed.

Noir hesitantly picked Gooey up and put him at his side. “You… really aren’t like most dark matter, are you? What even are you?”

Gooey rolled lightly in confusion. “I dunno.”

Kirby came to the other side of Noir, hugging him as best he could. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

“It’s a long story, you wouldn’t want to hear it.” Noir scoffed.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Kirby told him.

Noir merely smirked at the two in response. “Thanks for that. Maybe I can tell you some other time.” He looked over towards Iceberg, at the spot where Kirby and Gooey were enjoying the view earlier. “You two should get going. I’ve wasted enough of your time.”

“You didn’t waste any time!” Kirby said. “You needed help, just like everyone else we’ve met here!”

“If that’s the case, then you did a pretty good job. I’ll see you when you get rid of dark matter once and for all, okay?”

Gooey nodded, and Kirby waved goodbye as they went their separate ways. “Alright, take care now! Don’t be a stranger!”

With a new friend behind them, Kirby and Gooey continued on their adventure.

It all clicked in his mind, and a smirk appeared on his face.

“Sweetheart… are you maybe… ticklish?” 

Your heart dropped into your stomach, and you tried to act casual. It was difficult as Dean’s rough and calloused fingers dragged across your stomach, slowly.. and very tickly. You squirmed a little in his hold, but you quickly realized you were trapped.

“N-No.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

He halted his movements and you sighed in relief. When all of a sudden he dug his fingers into your hips, moving up your sides and up to your ribs. You let out a loud squeal before bursting into hysterical laughter, and deep evil chuckles left Dean’s lips.

“You lied to me, I think you need to be punished.” 

With that, he flipped you onto your back and held your legs down with his taller ones, and held your wrists above your head. With his free hand, he lifted your shirt exposing your ticklish skin. You gulped as his green eyes turned a shade darker, and he wiggled his fingers in front of you.

“C-Can we talk about this..?” You wiggled but you were trapped.

“No.” He said lowly.

With that, he tickled you and found out your sides were the worst spot on you. You were screaming in hysterical laughter while wiggling from side to side. You could feel the tears entering your eyes, and you felt a finger tickle next to your belly button. You squealed and Dean paused his movements,

“And what’s this?” He asked evily.

You opened your mouth to respond, but no words came out. Only a high-pitched string of giggles as Dean continued his ticklish onslaught. 

Dean’s POV:

Every part of you was beautiful. Your radiant smile. The way your hair shimmered in the sunlight. Your soft skin. Every damn part of you was perfect. 

You were even more beautiful in the early hours of the morning, as you slept ever so peacefully in his arms. 

Days like this, where he could just hold you as you were encapsulated within a dreamy wonderland, were his favorite. 

No hunting. No running from the cops. No Sam to barge in and disrupt you. Just Dean and his wonderful woman. 

Dean tensed briefly when he heard your breath hitch. You were starting to wake up. 

Dean gently wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close to him. He could smell the aroma of the remnants of the shampoo in your hair and it filled his nose with a nice vanilla scent. 

Dean buried his face into the back of your neck, nuzzling your soft skin gently. 

“Morning De,” you said.

Dean couldn’t resist but to plant a couple of soft kisses on your neck. Dean heard a faint giggle escape your lips, and your face turned a light shade of pink. Knowing just how ticklish you were, Dean decided to tease you a little more by purposely nuzzling his scruff into your neck. To add to the sensations, he wormed his hands under your shirt to rest nonchalantly on your waist. 

You flinched under his touch and tried to carefully escape his loose grip. Dean chuckled under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Dean said has you squirmed.

He was now lightly tracing circles on your soft skin. Dean enjoyed teasing you. You always became nervous and fluttery when he tickled you. Stubborn as all get out, you would never admit to him that you loved the ticklish sensations, and so Dean used that to his advantage. 

Your face was becoming a new shade of pink now. 

“N-nothing!” 

Dean smirked. He had you just where he wanted you. Tightening his grip, he locked eyes with you, waiting for you to crack. 

“Sweetheart…are you maybe… ticklish?”

Dean watched as your eyes widened. He knew that you knew your fate was sealed. No escape from Dean Winchester. The dreaded tickle machine. 

Even knowing your fate, Dean internally applauded your stubbornness and boldness. Trying to keep your voice calm you sputtered 

“N-no”

“Hmm. Okay,” Dean said as he loosened his grip.

He watched as your face was filled with confusion and relief, effectively dropping your guard. Just as Dean hoped for. 

Quickly, Dean grasped you again, and this time went on a full-on tickle spree. He pinched your hips and scurried his calloused fingertips across your rib cage as you immediately burst into squeals and heavy laughter. Dean loved every squeak, giggle, and snort you let out. Just another reason why he was so infatuated with you.

Giving you a chance to breathe, Dean stopped his attack and tutted at you. 

“You lied to me, I think you need to be punished.” 

Without giving you a chance to flee, Dean flipped you over and pinned you. Even though your face was red and sweaty, Dean couldn’t believe just how beautiful you were. Part of him felt guilty for what he was about to do. 

“C-Can we talk about this..?” 

Dean pulled himself back to reality when you spoke. He watched as you tested his grip by pulling on your arms. They didn’t budge of course.

“No”.

Dean couldn’t hold back any longer. He latched his free hand onto your side knowing that was your worst spot. Dean was feeling particularly evil today, so he gave you no mercy even as your sparkling eyes filled with tears. 

Not really paying attention to where his hand went, Dean, noticed a change in your laughter. Pausing, he glanced at the location of his fingers. They had landed on a small piece of flesh adjacent to your belly button. 

“And what’s this?”

Digging in, Dean didn’t even give you a chance to answer him before you were screaming out in laughter again. 

Readers POV:

You didn’t even know that tiny little spot was so damn sensitive. Dean's gruff hands created the perfect amount of pressure that tore you to pieces. 

“Tickle tickle tickle Y/n” Dean teased. 

Dean must have started to sense you were losing your strength, so he haphazardly let go of your pinned arms. 

You immediately covered your stomach and tried to roll over. Dean laughed and teasingly walked his fingers up to your armpits. 

You held your arms tightly against your body hoping to deter him but had no such luck. 

It was merely a trick. As you were focused on his fingers, Dean had dropped his head to your exposed tummy and blew an extremely ticklish raspberry. 

You yelped from the new sensation and moved your hands to cover the exposed skin. 

Using your panic as a distraction, Dean was able to prod his fingers into your underarms. 

You shrieked out and tried to roll over onto your stomach again. 

Dean raised a mischievous eyebrow. 

“You really are ticklish everywhere!”

You would have cursed at him, but the new ticklish feeling in your underarms made it impossible to think, let alone yell out profanities at your boyfriend. 

After a few more torturous minutes, Dean finally released you. You rolled over onto your belly and panted out the last few phantom giggles. 

Dean gently scooped you into his warm arms and kissed you. 

Still a little out of breath, you pulled back and leaned your head up against his chest and held his hands. 

“Even though you tickled me nearly to death, I still love waking up next to you”. 

Dean kissed your forehead. 

All three of your heads whip towards the opening of the tent as you hear crashes in the distance. Is someone coming to take you and Cee like they tried to back in that terrifying tent?

Ezra grabs you with his uninjured arm and pulls you closer. “You need to get out of here. You take Cee, and you get in the pod, and you go.”

You lock eyes with him, panicking at the idea of leaving him behind. In the last few months as his prospecting partner, you had found yourself growing closer and closer to him. You savored the moments when you could laugh together and the quiet moments you spent in your tent at the end of the long days. You cared for him, you had admitted to yourself long ago. But you had been denying a reality that had been gnawing away at you for some time.

“Ezra, you listen to me. We get through this, and then we can all get on that beat-up pod and get the hell off this rock and go live a life. Together. I need you,” you choke out.

Reaching up, Ezra cradles your face and wipes away the tears that you didn’t even realize were falling. He nods his head at you and then looks over to Cee. “Alright, little one. Do what you absolutely must.” Cee busies herself getting the equipment ready, and you work to get him out of his suit. You grab a tourniquet from the medkit and tie it off high on his arm. Once secured, you administer the numbing shot. You sit directly in front of him, as close as you can.

As Cee begins the incision Ezra gasps, his breath hitching to where he is holding the air in his lungs like it may be his last. You have your hands on either of his shoulders to brace him. He shouldn’t be feeling any pain, but he glances down to see the blood; a big mistake. You bring both your hands on either side of his face to take control of his attention, pulling his face towards yours.

His eyes are wide with fear so you resolve to be his strength. You keep a stoic face but you are crying on the inside for him. Locking eyes with you he finally exhales with a series of forced wheezes, and you see he is starting to hyperventilate. You have to get him to control his breathing as Cee works because his broad chest is rising and falling rapidly, causing him to jolt on the crate on which he is perched.

“Ez, breathe. In and out.” you coach him and he falls into a calmer pattern. “Keep breathing baby, just like that, keep breathing for me. You got this.”

He tries to hear your instructions beyond all of the horror and pressure. Did she just call me baby? He feels the warmth of your hands on his cheeks. He sees the beauty of your eyes on his. He can’t help but think this may be the last time he sees your face. Devastation consumes him as he realizes he may never have the chance to tell you how he truly feels.

Ezra looks up at you, your hands still framing his face, with so much worry. His eyebrows are drawn together and you can see the panic dancing across his eyes. Cee is working diligently, but with each passing second, you see your Ezra spiraling. You scoot your crate as close as possible to his, making your knees slot together. You let your hands drop from his face, and take his left hand into your grasp. You swiftly pull his hand to your chest and hold it there.

“Feel my breathing, Ez. Try and match it. Just like that, love. In and out.”

Keeping one hand on his, you reach out with your other and place it on his own chest, hoping to ground him even further.

“Birdie, what if I don’t-”

You cut off whatever he was about to say.

“Where should we go, hmm? Do we find another place to prospect? No, we don’t need any more money. Let’s go somewhere and rest for a while. Wouldn’t that be - keep breathing - wouldn’t that be nice? Just you, and me, and Cee if she wants. We can be together anywhere in the universe, Ez. I just need you to be there with me,” you attempt to distract him as both your breaths start to calm down and synchronize. The truth is tumbling out of your mouth.

Ezra yells and grunts suddenly. You jump at the sound, squeezing his hand and grabbing his shirt. You know that Cee just hit bone.

“Up to four, Cee!” you turn your attention back to Ezra. “So close Ez, almost done, hold on baby, you’re doing so great.”

He grimaces at the sound of the saw and needs you closer so he moves his hand up to grab the back of your neck. You know what he is asking of you and you stand between his knees in front of him. Running your fingers through his sweat-drenched hair to cradle his head, you hug him against your abdomen. His left arm wraps around your waist to hold you as close as he can. You stand like this until you hear the final crack and the weight is released.

Holding Ezra’s head against you, angled away from the scene, you instruct Cee, “Make sure to put a good coating of juice and dress everything shut.”

This is when you feel Ezra’s shoulders trembling, almost bouncing. You hold him as tight to you as you can as he cries into your shirt, his hand grabbing at your back for a comforting purchase.

Ezra cannot contain his emotions anymore as he sobs at the loss. His primary weapon is now gone. Cee finishes wrapping the site of the wound, sits back on her heels, and gives a final nod of approval.

“Time to go, Ez. Pod’s waiting.” You comb your fingers through his hair, attempting to soothe his ebbing tears.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it. Who am I, now that I am damaged? What use will I be?” He looks down at where his right arm was just minutes ago.

You help him to his feet and hold his chin to force eye contact. “You are not damaged. You are still Ezra, and you have faced worse than this. I will be by your side through everything. If you’ll have me,” you whisper that last part.

Ezra sighs out your name and presses his forehead to yours. “Solely if I can be yours as well. My greatest forfeiture today would not have been my life, birdie. It would have been you.”

You press your lips to his, just barely. “Let’s pack up and get the hell out of here then,” you say, making Ezra crack a small smile.

Time to leave the Green behind.

~